I Wish I Were In Paris

From war to peace and politics to gossip, if we have an opinion on something we'll share it here.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Mandela, You're Alive!!

I don't believe my eyes. They must be deceiving me!! Mandela's alive!! But how could that be? Just last week, George Bush declared that Mandela was dead. Not only that, but it was also made known that Saddam (a dead man) killed him and all of the Mandelas.

Mandela opens shopping mall in Soweto

SOWETO, South Africa - Former President Nelson Mandela opened the largest shopping center in Soweto on Thursday, more evidence of the business boom that is transforming South Africa's most famous township.

The 699,654-square-foot, $86 million Maponya Mall is the latest venture by Richard Maponya, a close associate of Mandela and one of Soweto's oldest entrepreneurs.

"With this action, we declare this mall open," said a beaming Mandela after cutting a large gold ribbon.

Soweto, the sprawling township in the southwest of Johannesburg, was envisioned by apartheid's architects as merely a warehouse for workers. Since the end of apartheid more than a decade ago, it has increasingly established itself as a community — where people live, work and shop, and where business sees opportunity.

Shopping malls, once chiefly associated with Johannesburg's wealthy northern suburbs, are sprouting up across Soweto, as black South Africans reap the benefits of a growing economy.

"There are big changes in Soweto," Sowetan Cecile Daubanes said at Maponya Mall's opening, struggling to push a shopping trolley loaded with groceries.

Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in the country with about 1 million people, nearly a third of Johannesburg's total population.

It was at the center of the anti-apartheid struggle and home to the country's most important political figures, such as Mandela and fellow Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Today, its cosmopolitan residents continue to define black urban style in South Africa.

"I have been one of the sons of this town for a very long time. I have seen it grow," Maponya said at the opening, standing in front of a statue inspired by an iconic photograph of a dying Hector Pieterson, the youngest victim of the 1976 Soweto student uprising against apartheid.

Maponya, dubbed the "father of black retail," spoke about how he battled to access business financing as he tried to build up a career as an entrepreneur.

"I refused to listen and kept on knocking on doors. Today, I deliver to you my dream of 28 years," he said as people poured into the mall, eager to take advantage of the many opening sales.

Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo said a 2004 study showed that Sowetans spent $611 million on retail goods, but only 25 percent of this was spent in the township due to a lack of retail outlets. Since then, there has been an "explosion" of new shops in Soweto, including the Maponya Mall, he said.

"Soweto is not just undergoing a face lift," he said. "It is undergoing a radical reconstruction and the mood is one of excitement."

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, held talks on Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the Middle East, Islam and terrorism, the official SANA news agency said.

Williams discussed with Assad "the situation in the Middle East and the role of Syria in the peace process" during a visit to Damascus, the agency said.

Assad stressed to the archbishop the "need to clarify the values of Islam across the world, to draw the distinction between Islam and terrorism, and to organise a dialogue among the different civilisations."

The Anglican leader praised "the coexistence which reigns between Muslims and Christians in Syria... which has welcomed Iraqi refugees of all faiths."

Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, more than 2.3 million Iraqis have become refugees, with Syria welcoming some 1.5 million.

Damascus, which has received little international help to cope with the human flood, has however now been forced to introduce visas to try to curb the flow.

Later on Thursday, the archbishop was to join Christian and Muslim leaders for iftar, the meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan, at the invitation of the Mohammad Kaftaro Centre, which runs courses on Islamic law in Damascus.

Williams, who was born in Wales in 1950, was enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2003.

Kudos to the Archbishop of Canterbury for actually going to Syria. More importantly, kudos to the Archbishop for having an open mind instead of coming there full of ignorance and bigotry.

BREAKING NEWS: Mychal Bell Is Out Of Jail

Mychal Bell, one of the Jena Six, is finally out of jail. It's about damn time!!

Mychal Bell of 'Jena 6' released; bail being posted

Mychal Bell, a black teenager accused of beating a white classmate and who was the last of the "Jena 6" behind bars, was released from custody Thursday after a juvenile court judge set his bail at $45,000.

Bell's release followed an announcement from LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters, who said he would not appeal a higher court's decision moving Bell's case to juvenile court.

Wearing a blue striped golf shirt and jeans, Bell walked out of the LaSalle Parish courthouse a week after an estimated 15,000-plus demonstrators marched through Jena -- a town of about 3,000 -- to protest local authorities' handling of the teens' case.

"We do not condone violence of any kind, but we ask that people be given a fair and even chance at the bar of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said outside the courthouse.

"Tonight, Mychal can go home, but Mychal is not out of the juvenile process. He goes home because a lot of people left their home and stood up for him," he said.

"Let America know -- we are not fighting for the right to fight in school. We're not fighting for the right for kids to beat each other. We're fighting to say that there must be one level of justice for everybody. And you cannot have adult attempted murder for some, and a fine for others, and call that equal protection under the law. Two wrongs don't make one civil right."

Demonstrators at last week's march were protesting how authorities handled the cases of Bell and five other teens accused of beating fellow student Justin Barker.

Many said they were angry that the students, dubbed the Jena 6, were being treated more harshly than three white students who hung nooses from an oak tree on Jena High School property.

The white students were suspended from school but did not face criminal charges. The protesters said they should have been charged with a hate crime.

Bell's attorney Lewis Scott said the teen was moved from jail to a juvenile facility earlier Thursday.

The paperwork for Bell's bail was being worked out, Sharpton said.

Walters said his decision not to appeal was based on what he believed was best for the victim in the case.

"While I believe that a review would have merit ... I believe it is in the best interest of the victim and his family not to delay this matter any further and move it to its conclusion," Walters told reporters.

He said last week's march, which included Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, did not influence his decision.

Bell, now 17, was the only one of the Jena 6 behind bars. His bond previously was set at $90,000.

A district judge earlier this month tossed out Bell's conviction for conspiracy to commit second-degree battery, saying the matter should have been handled in juvenile court. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, did the same with Bell's battery conviction in mid-September.

Prosecutors originally charged all six black students accused of being involved in beating Barker with second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy. Walters reduced charges against at least four of them -- Bell, Robert Bailey Jr., Carwin Jones and Theo Shaw -- to battery and conspiracy.

Bryant Purvis awaits arraignment. Charges against Jesse Ray Beard, who was 14 at the time of the alleged crime, are unavailable because he's a juvenile.

Wednesday, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced that Louisiana State Police officers will protect the families of the Jena 6 and investigate any threats they have received. A white supremacist Web site posted the names and addresses of the six black teens after last week's march, calling on followers to "let them know justice is coming."

Thursday, the FBI said it had been made aware of allegations of threats.

"Threats are taken seriously, and as these investigations are ongoing we cannot comment further," said Sheila Thorne of the FBI's office in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The December 4 attack on Barker came after months of racial tension, including at least two instances of fighting in the town, sparked originally when three white teens hung the nooses.

Walters has said there was no direct link between the hanging of the nooses and the schoolyard attack, and defended the prosecutions ahead of last Thursday's peaceful march. Blanco defended the prosecutor Wednesday, saying, "He has a solid record and is highly respected among his peers."

Walters also addressed the stress and notoriety the town has been subjected to, saying the only way he and other residents "have been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community."

He also suggested that some kind of "disaster" was averted when thousands of marchers came to Jena last week.

"I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened," Walters said.

"The Lord Jesus Christ put his influence on those people, and they responded accordingly," he said, without explaining exactly what he meant.

Soon after the district attorney spoke, a local reverend took issue with his comments.

"Obviously, we are serving two different gods here," the Rev. Donald Sidley said. "My Bible says that we should do -- we should be loving, love your neighbor as yourself.

"For him to try and separate the community like he is and then using Christ Jesus to influence the people that Jesus is working on their side, well, that's -- that's absurd. ... God is god of the human race," said Sidley, of the New Evergreen Church.

If it hadn't been for the Governor stepping in, Mychal Bell would still be in jail tonight. I would like to personally thank Governor Blanco for stopping the prosecutor from pursuing his vindictive pursuit of "justice".

I would also like to personally thank Governor Blanco for stepping in and obtaining protection for the teenagers and their families in the wake of the KKK and neo-Nazi's terroristic threats of lynching!!

Serving Your Country: Jenna Bush Style

During an interview with Diane Sawyer, Jenna Bush was asked what she thought about the statement that she and Babs Jr. should be serving in the military over in Iraq. She also attempted to explain the war in Iraq.

Jenna on Iraq: ‘It’s complicated.’

In her soon-to-be-aired interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Jenna Bush is very forthcoming about her marriage plans and her fiancée Henry Hager. But she was far more circumspect about her views on Iraq:

“You know I’m not here to talk about that, but I’m also not a policymaker,” she told Sawyer in an interview to be aired by ABC News’ 20/20 . “It’s a really complicated, obviously a very complicated subject. Everybody can agree on that.”

She said she understood critics who argue that she and her twin sister, Barbara, should serve in Iraq. “Obviously I understand that question and see what the point of that question is for sure. I think there are many ways to serve your country,” she said.

It's not that complicated sweetheart!! Allow me to break it down into terms that you and other braindead idiots can understand.

YOUR DADDY LIED. HE STARTED AN ILLEGAL, IMMORAL WAR WITH A COUNTRY AND PEOPLE THAT DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO US. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE "EXECUTION" OF AT LEAST 600,000 INNOCENT IRAQI MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN. I KNOW YOU BUSHIES LOVE THAT WORD, EXECUTION. SWEETHEART, YOUR DADDY IS AN ARROGANT, MEGALOMANIACAL MURDERER!!

There's nothing complicated about Iraq. There's nothing complicated about the war in Iraq. There's nothing complicated about Afghanistan. There's nothing complicated about the war in Afghanistan. And there certainly isn't anything complicated about your DADDY!! Keep telling yourself that though. You're as delusional as he is!!

I notice that she failed to properly answer the question about her and Babs Jr. not serving in Iraq. She gave the typical RePUKElican response of "there are many ways to serve your country." Have you been consulting the Romney boys lately? They said the same thing.

Serving your country does not include:

Prancing around in a wedding dress, and deciding whether or not to have a White House wedding!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Who Is Exploiting 9/11?

Just days ago when the Iranian President sought permission to visit Ground Zero and was rejected, everyone cried foul. They said that he would use it as a photo op, and basically said he was exploiting the tragedy of 9/11.

Who is the one really exploiting 9/11? Rudy Giuliani, although he claims that he had no idea what was taking place. Sure Rudy!! We believe you!! NOT!!

Backer of Giuliani hosts '$9.11 for Rudy' fundraiser

WASHINGTON (AP) — The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd said Tuesday a fundraising party for Republican Rudy Giuliani seeking $9.11 each from guests exploits the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for political purposes.

The Dodd campaign called on Giuliani to refuse the money raised at the event, saying the theme "is absolutely unconscionable, shameless and sickening." A Giuliani spokeswoman said the $9.11 idea was selected without the campaign's knowledge.

"Mr. Giuliani was quick to express much vitriol for the independent ad created by MoveOn.org last week; we would hope he would express the same kind of outrage and indignation about this group that he is the beneficiary of," Colleen Flanagan, a spokeswoman for Dodd, said in a statement released by his campaign.

Giuliani and other GOP presidential candidates strongly criticized the liberal, anti-war group MoveOn.org for a full-page advertisement the group bought in The New York Times. The ad included the headline "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?," a reference to Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq.

The Dodd campaign also said Giuliani "should reject and/or return any money raised" through the party, which is to be held Wednesday night at the home of Abraham Sofaer in Palo Alto, California. Giuliani's campaign is sponsoring house parties across the country that night for the candidate's backers.

Sofaer said he had nothing to do with the decision to ask for the $9.11.

"There are some young people who came up with it," Sofaer said when reached by telephone Monday evening. He referred other questions to Giuliani's campaign.

"I'm just providing support for him. He's an old friend of mine," Sofaer said of Giuliani.

Sofaer was a State Department adviser under President Reagan and is a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Federal election data indicates Sofaer has given nearly $50,000 to Republican causes and candidates, including Giuliani, since 1995.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella said: "These are two volunteers who acted independently of and without the knowledge of the campaign. Their decision to ask individuals for that amount was an unfortunate choice."

According to the invitation, "$9.11 for Rudy" is an "independent, non-denominational grass-roots campaign to raise $10,000 in small increments to show how many individual, everyday Americans support 'America's Mayor."'

Giuliani was mayor of New York during the Sept. 11 attacks.

Every single time you turn around, this thug is exploiting 9/11 for his own political gain. He makes me sick!!

I don't believe for one second that Giuliani or any of his people had no clue that this was happening. How could they not know? Instead of owning up to what's going on, they're blaming it on two "volunteers who acted independently of and without knowledge of the campaign." Yeah, sure they did!! I know!! Let's find a scapegoat or two instead of being a man and saying I did it!! Typical RePUKElican behavior!!

If he attends this party, he's a pig!! If he attends this party and accepts the money, he's a disgusting, low-life son of a bitch. And that doesn't even begin to describe him.

This pig is not "America's Mayor". He's yet another sick motherfucker who doesn't give a damn about those who died on 9/11. He CHOOSES to exploit their deaths for his own sick, selfish, political opportunities.

Anyone who votes for this piece of shit will be spitting on the graves of those who died. You will be slapping their families in the face. And you'll be every bit the piece of shit that he is!!

Monday, September 24, 2007

This Is How Americans Support Freedom And The Troops?

I'm not surprised that I didn't hear about this story until now. It wasn't until I did my daily surfing of blogs that I came upon this story on Who Hijacked Our Country. Why would we hear about it? After all, it's only the things that anti-war people do that gets coverage. But when pro-war pigs beat a grieving father of a deceased soldier, all we get is ...SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The People Who Assaulted a Gold Star Father on September 15th

Here are photos of members of "Gathering of Eagles" who assaulted gold star father Carlos Arredondo in broad daylight in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 2007, throwing him to the ground and kicking him.

Account of what happened from Arredondo's wife Mélida Arredondo:

Carlos Arredondo, 47 year old father of two sons, arrived in the nation's capitol on Monday, 09/10/07 to share a memorial he has made to honor for his eldest son, Alex. Carlos has visited thirty of the United States with the traveling memorial to his son Alexander. Lcpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, USMC was killed on 08/25/04. He was 20 years and 20 days old. The memorial consists of a casket, poster- size photographs of Alex when he graduated from boot camp, before his second tour in Iraq, lying in state at his wake, and a photo of Alex with his younger brother Brian.

Saturday, September 15, 2007 consisted of first a rally, a march towards the capitol and then a die-in. Carlos pulled the memorial along the march route approaching the rotunda near the capitol building. Several of the marchers requested for him to speak about the memorial where a crowd gathered around him. After finishing, several people walked with Carlos as he pulled the memorial. Several pictures of Alex dressed in his blues were attached to the display.

As Carlos passed counter protesters, one man ripped a picture of Alex from the memorial. Carlos leaped on the man to retrieve the picture. It was at that point that approximately five others all began to attack Carlos by kicking him in the head, legs, stomach and back.

The Capitol police bicycle patrol then appeared to break up the fight. Several officers including a female officer were engaged in breaking up the fight and were able to stop any further injuries from occurring. Hannah Jones who was walking with Carlos was also assaulted.

A bystander named Ramesh witnessed the whole encounter and also retrieved the picture of Alex for Carlos. He was quite distressed at how he watched the men follow Carlos as he pulled the memorial, purposefully yelling epiphets and eventually taking Alex's photograph. Soon, an ambulance showed up as well as many concerned activists. The paramedics provided first aid to Carlos but he did not seek further medical attention. Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked.

Like Tom pointed out over at Who Hijacked Our Country, nothing you could ever dream up to call these pigs would ever truly do the situation justice.

This is how these filthy motherfuckers support freedom and our troops? This is how they treat the father of a soldier who died so that their filthy, disgusting asses could live?

They need to be locked up for life!! There is no place in society for these pigs!! Take a long, hard look at the photos. If you know them, give Carlos and his deceased son some justice by calling police and turning these pigs in.

To all of you assholes who are bound to leave a comment defending these pigs, bring it on bitches!! I'm ready!!

Jena 6 Facts

Just to make you aware of the FACTS, here's a blow-by-blow of Mychal Bell's trial and other things pertaining to Jena.

* The ten student witnesses who testified at Mychal Bell’s trial were all white. In fact, most of them were part of a distinct minority within the high school’s white student population who attended all-white schools in the country surrounding Jena until High School. (More on this below)

* Justin Cooper was the only witness at trial to testify that Mychal Bell kicked Justin Barker as the victim lay unconscious on the ground. Since Justin Cooper was one of the boys who admitted to hanging the nooses at Jena High School at the beginning of the school year, he can hardly be seen as an objective or credible witness. Defense Attorney Blane Williams was apparently unaware of Cooper’s connection to the noose incident.

* Jessica Hooter was one of four trial witnesses who identified Mychal as the person who threw the first punch at Justin Barker. Two days after the assault occurred, Jessica was unable to identify the initial attacker. But as she explained at trial, “After I thought about it more, I remembered more.” In his closing remarks, Blane Williams never mentioned that she had embellished her earlier testimony. Perhaps he forgot.

* The single male juror graduated from High School with Justin Barker’s father. The tendency to sympathize with an old school buddy whose kid got punched and kicked in a one-sided assault is understandable. It also makes objectivity impossible.

* Midway through the trial, assault victim Justin Barker and his family were seen by ten witnesses (myself included) sharing a convivial meal with several of the students who had testified against Mychal Bell. This suggests that a number of “memory-enhancing” conversations about the incident have taken place between early December and late June. Jessica Hooter likely “remembered” that the unidentified attacker was Mychal Bell because this quickly became the orthodox story in the social circle she move in.

* Coach Benjy Lewis gave two statements immediately after the school incident in which he clearly states that Justin Barker was facing him when Malcolm Shaw (not Mychal Bell) struck Barker from behind. “I saw Malcolm Shaw hit Justin Barker with his right fist to the right side of Justin’s head, right around the temple,” Lewis wrote. “Justin went down face first, knocked out . . .” Most witnesses agree that a single punch knocked Barker out cold. The only adult who witnessed the punch says Mychal Bell didn’t throw it.

* In a signed statement given immediately after the altercation at the school, student Jesse Beard stated that moments after the assault Coach Manning asked him where Malcolm Shaw was.

* It isn’t hard to see why the prosecution didn’t call Lewis to the stand (his testimony would have devastated the state’s case); but how do we explain why defense attorney Blane Williams didn’t call the coach to testify?

* Two female students testified that the person who knocked Justin Barker cold was wearing a green jacket. Mychal Bell’s statement, given immediately after the incident, suggests that he was initially cleared of responsibility because he was wearing a black jacket. At trial, the “green jacket” witnesses were convinced that Mychal Bell was not the attacker-they knew Mychal and the guy in the green jacket was someone else.

* The “green jacket” identification means that we have at least three mutually contradictory eyewitness accounts of who struck Justin Barker: Mychal Bell, Malcolm Shaw, or an unidentified student in a green jacket.

* Both “green jacket” witnesses insist that Justin Barker was knocked cold, not by a punch to the temple, but by having his head slammed into a concrete bench. Coach Benjy Lewis says that Justin Barker was knocked cold from a punch from behind. Witnesses who name Mychal Bell as the attacker describe a face-to-face confrontation followed by a blow to the head that knocked Justin Barker out. Defense attorney Blane Williams never reflected on the evidence long enough to identify these obvious contradictions.

* In early September, the three white students responsible for hanging nooses in a tree in the school courtyard were punished with a few days of in-school suspension. The noose incident was dismissed as a childish prank. The following day, black students staged a spontaneous protest rally under the tree where the nooses had been discovered. Several black male athletes took the lead in this protest-the same students who were eventually accused of attacking Justin Barker.

* The decision to treat the noose incident as a childish prank sparked a brief firestorm of media attention in which Jena school officials were frequently accused of racism.

* In early September, District Attorney Reed Walters addressed an emergency school assembly called in response to the spontaneous student protest. With a dozen fully uniformed police officers in the auditorium, Walters warned protest organizers that with a stroke of his pen he could take their lives away. Walters has admitted under oath that he made this remark. His words were not aimed at the entire student body, nor at black students in general-he was speaking to the student athletes we now call the Jena 6. After the demonstration under the tree, Robert Bailey, Carwin Jones, Mychal Bell, Theodore Shaw, Jesse Beard and Bryant Ray Purvis becamenotorious.

* Evidence suggests that some teachers and school administrators were empowered by Mr. Walters’ “stroke of my pen” remark. Defendants report that in the wake of the school assembly, several teachers became increasingly strict and adversarial in relation to the boys responsible for associating Jena High School with Jim Crow racism. It appears that some students responded to this change in attitude by withholding respect and acting out in ways that encouraged an even more authoritarian teacher response. Discipline referrals for the Jena 6 skyrocketed during the fall semester.

* In the period between Mr. Walter’s “stroke of my pen” threat in September and the assault on Justin Barker in early December, a series of physical altercations played out between the Jena 6 and the circle of boys who supported the hanging of the nooses. The white students had attended all-white schools in the countryside prior to coming to the integrated high school campus. They felt reassured by the segregated school courtyard and were intimidated by the suggestion that black students could sit wherever they wanted. Hence the nooses.

* The laughably light discipline handed down for this “childish prank” was perceived, correctly, as a triumph for students wishing to preserve a segregated school square.

* In signed statements, several white and black students mentioned a series of verbal altercations during the lunch hour preceding the attack on Justin Barker. The trash-talking was directly related to a fight at the Fair Barn three days earlier. On that occasion, Robert Bailey and a few of his friends were invited to an all-white student party by some of their white friends. When Robert entered the building he was punched in the face by a 22 year-old white male. In seconds, Robert was assaulted with beer bottles, punches and kicks in a virtual mirror image of the altercation at the high school three days later. The only differences were that the identify of the instigator in the Fair Barn incident was undisputed and that Robert remained conscious after the initial blow and was thus able to minimize the impact of the attack.

* The following morning, Robert Bailey and two of the friends who had come to his aid during the Fair Barn assault were leaving a local convenience store when they encountered one of the country white males who had jumped Robert the night before. Fearing retaliation, the boy retreated to his truck and pulled out a pump-action, pistol-grip shotgun that looks like something the Terminator might have fancied. When Robert and his friends wrestled the weapon away from their would-be assailant they were charged with assault and theft. Once again, Jena’s New Jim Crow regime was reinforced.

* It is not unusual for residents of rural LaSalle Parish to drive around with firearms in their trucks. On May 10, 2007, Justin Barker was arrested for bringing a rifle to school in his vehicle. A thorough search probably would have turned up several more illegal firearms in the school parking lot.

* The violent assault at the Fair Barn, the convenience store incident, and the assault at the school followed in the wake of a traumatic school fire in late Novermber. Everyone associated with the school was in a state of shock akin to post traumatic stress syndrome. Concerned by the wave of violence, several teachers asked administrators not to reopen the school the Monday morning of the assault.

* This spiral of action and reaction was initiated by the September decision of school administrators to treat the noose incident as a childish prank. When Reed Walters threatened the Jena 6 with life imprisonment if they didn’t relinquish their constitutional right to denounce injustice, the boys were left with no legitimate avenue of protest. In the end, immature white and black males were left to their own devices. The consequences were as predictable as they were tragic.

If this isn't a case for prosecutorial misconduct, I don't know what is. Where the hell does he get off threatening to "take their lives away with the stroke of his pen"? Talk about being on a power trip!! Second of all, where the hell does he get off threatening life imprisonment if the Jena 6 didn't "relinquish their constitutional right to denounce injustice"?

Two other things that caught my attention were very interesting, and it smelled foul!! The first thing was the fact that one of the jurors during Mychal Bell's trial went to school with the victim's father. Umm, can you say a conflict of interest? He should have never been on the jury. The second thing was the fact that the victim and his family ate with the prosecution witnesses during the trial. HELLO!! Influencing the witnesses?????????????????

I realize that there are some of you out there who feel that these teenagers should be locked up for life. Clearly, you don't know how the justice system works. This should have been tried in juvenile court, period!! You know damn well that these teenagers have been, are being, and will continue to be railroaded by a blatantly RACIST prosecutor who deserves to be out of a job!! When someone says that it has nothing to do with race, you know damn well that RACE is exactly what this is about. Notice when the prosecutor was threatening to take lives away with the stroke of his pen, he didn't direct his comments at EVERYONE. He didn't even direct his comments at the jackasses who hung the nooses. He directed them at the Jena 6, and they hadn't even done anything at this point. It's racism, pure and simple!!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Don't Go Blaming China

One Million Simplicity Cribs Recalled CPSC Says Failure in Drop Side of Cribs Can Trap and Suffocate Infants

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today a voluntary recall of about 1 million Simplicity cribs because of design failures that could result in infant deaths.

The drop side can detach from the crib, which can create a dangerous gap and lead to the entrapment and suffocation of infants, according to the CPSC.

At least two infants, a 6-month-old and a 9-month-old, have died in Simplicity-manufactured cribs that had older-style hardware in which the drop side was installed upside down, according to the CPSC.

The CPSC is aware of seven infant entrapments and 55 incidents in these cribs, and is also investigating the death of a 1-year-old child in a Simplicity crib with newer-style hardware in which the drop side was installed upside down.

The commission warns parents and caregivers to check all Simplicity cribs to make sure the drop side is installed right side up.

The recalled Simplicity crib models include Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N' Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves the following Simplicity cribs that used the Graco logo: Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in 1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio.

The recalled cribs have one of the following model numbers, which can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760 and 8996.

The cribs, which were made in China, were sold in department stores, children's stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 and $300.

As an immediate precaution, consumers should check to see if the drop side is installed right side up. To do this, check to see that the slightly rounded rail with the decorative groove is installed at the top, and that the plain rail is on the bottom. Next, consumers should make sure the drop side is securely attached to the tracks in all four corners.

Do you want to know why I say not to blame China for this latest recall? I don't blame China because according to the Simplicity website (the crib company), all of their products are designed, engineered, and tested in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. What does that say to me? That says to me that had they actually done the PROPER testing on these cribs in the first place, they would have caught the problems before the crib ever made it to China to be manufactured. Had they done the proper testing in the first place, children would not be DEAD right now!!

Despite 55 complaints, seven infants left trapped and three deaths, it took years for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to warn parents about 1 million flawed cribs.

Photographs taken of Liam Johns' crib by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office clearly show where it came apart.

The drop rail had detached from its plastic track, creating a gap through which the 9-month-old boy slipped feet-first. Instead of falling to the floor, Liam got his head stuck between the rail and the mattress. Trapped in a hanging position, the boy asphyxiated.

Liam's April 2005 death prompted an investigation by a federal watchdog agency and a family lawsuit against the crib's manufacturer, Simplicity Inc.

But the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission didn't warn parents across the country about the potentially fatal flaw in Simplicity cribs--not after Liam suffocated, not after more complaints about the crib rails and not after two more infants died.

Once the Tribune began questioning the company and the agency this month, a massive recall of Simplicity cribs followed.

On Friday, the CPSC took action on 1 million cribs, including the model that the Johns family used for Liam. It is the largest recall of full-size cribs in the agency's history.

In its Hidden Hazards series, the Tribune has documented how the understaffed and sluggish CPSC fails to protect children from dangers in toys and other products. The paper's examination of Simplicity's popular cribs underscores that, even in the aftermath of a child's death, the agency can fall short in its watchdog role, leaving children vulnerable to a documented hazard.

Interviews and records show that the federal investigator assigned to Liam's death failed to inspect the crib in his initial inquiry and didn't track down the model or manufacturer.

"We get so many cases," the investigator, Michael Ng, said in an interview this month. "Once I do a report, I send it in and that's it. I go to the next case. We could spend more time, but we are under the gun. We have to move on."

Only last week, after inquiries by the Tribune, did Ng return to California to find the crib. It had first been held as evidence by sheriff's police and later was put in storage by a lawyer retained by the family.

Even with the recall, it remained unclear why it took so long to address the problem. The CPSC often gets bogged down in negotiations with companies over recalls because fedx eral law limits its powers and its ability to disclose details of its investigations into dangerous products.

Nancy Cowles, a child-product safety advocate and executive director of Kids In Danger, called for congressional hearings to look into the delay. "Was it because the CPSC has no power and the company was able to stall?" she asked.

When first presented with the Tribune findings this month, Julie Vallese, spokeswoman for the CPSC, said the agency could not comment about Simplicity. "We have more than one investigation open, and that's why I can't answer any questions," she said.

In announcing the recall Friday, the CPSC blamed a flawed crib design and hardware that allowed parents to install the drop rails upside down, which can cause the rail to detach from the frame. The agency said it was aware of seven non-fatal cases of infants being trapped and 55 other cases of drop-rail problems.

It also linked the Simplicity cribs to three deaths but did not release the names of those children or the dates of the fatal accidents.

One of those children was Liam Johns, records show. Another was 6-month-old Edward Millwood, who died in November 2006 in Georgia. The third was 8-month-old Royale Arceneaux, who died in February in Houston. All three children fell between the mattress and a separated drop rail.

The drop rails in those deaths had been installed upside down. But the agency also found two incidents in which correctly installed drop rails failed to work properly.

Ken Waldman, president of Simplicity Inc., said in an interview Friday that the company makes safe products and works closely with the CPSC to fix any problems. He would not say why the recall did not occur earlier.

"This is the thing to do and that's why we decided to do it now," he said.

The Aspen 3 in 1, once Simplicity's best-selling crib, accounted for the bulk of the recall. About 600,000 of those models, which are no longer made, were recalled.

It was the same one the Johns family chose for Liam.

Reached at her home in Northern California, Nicola Johns, Liam's mother, began to weep when she learned about the recall.

"I feel like there is a stone or weight off my chest," she said. "So many kids' lives can be potentially saved because they took the right action finally.

"Nothing will bring Liam back, but if this saves one baby's life, it will mean so much to me."

Haven or danger?

A baby's crib is supposed to be the safest place in the home. It's considered a haven, the one place where the parents of a child, whether a newborn or a wriggling infant learning to roll over, can leave their babies for hours at a time without worry of harm.

That's why parents were so upset and contacted the CPSC when they began to notice problems with the drop rails on their Aspen 3 in 1 cribs. That model had features allowing it to be converted into a toddler bed and later a regular bed as a child grew.

According to records obtained from the agency through the federal Freedom of Information Act, the first complaint to the CPSC about a drop-rail problem with the crib came in July 2003 from a woman in Meridian, Miss. It involved the rail suddenly falling down, but not separating from the crib.

A CPSC investigator tried to find the crib in December, five months later. By then the woman had returned it to the store for a refund. The crib was gone, according to a copy of the investigator's report.

The investigator then called Simplicity. "During our conversation, the customer service representative for Simplicity indicated that the manufacturer is aware of some issues with drop sides of this model crib. He said that all cases of which [the company] is aware have involved improper assembly of the drop side by the consumer," the report said.

Then, in February 2004, a mother complained about a more serious drop-rail issue: separation from the crib. Julie Heath, who was living with her husband at the Ft. Stewart, Ga., Army base, reported to the CPSC that an hour after she put her 5-month-old daughter into the crib, she came into the nursery and found that one end of the drop rail had come loose. She said she also contacted Simplicity.

"I called the company, and they said it was no big deal," Heath said in an interview. "They said there were no problems with it. I thought it was scary and wondered if there were any kids who were hurt that they weren't telling us about."

Heath said she ultimately got rid of the crib and instructed her husband to put it into a trash bin in separate pieces. "I see them [Simplicity cribs] a lot at yard sales on the base," she explained. "I was worried if we just left it out that someone would pick it up and some baby would die."

Many of the parents who complained about their Simplicity cribs weren't worried just about their own children. They also wanted action to avert tragedy for other families.

The drop rail on the Aspen 3 in 1 owned by Christina Zimmerman of Bloomington, Ind., separated from the headboard of the crib the day after New Year's 2005. The thought that her son could have fallen through the resulting gap terrified her, and she contacted the CPSC.

"It had a huge gap," Zimmerman said. "I thought my son could fall through or get his head stuck in there."

She said she returned it to the store where she purchased it. "I stressed to them--I don't know how the procedure works, but these need to be removed from the shelf. I thought it should be taken off the market."

Zimmerman said she was saddened, but not surprised, to hear of Liam's death.

"I have five children," she said. "I was just afraid something like that was going to happen. You don't think just about your child. "As a mother, I don't want anyone to lose their child like that. I can't imagine how [Liam's] parents feel."

Nicola Johns put her son Liam to bed about 8 p.m. on April 11, 2005, in their apartment in Citrus Heights, Calif.

She last checked on him about five hours later, just before she and her husband, Chad, went to bed. She was roused by her 2-year-old son, Logan, around 6:30 a.m. and got up to make breakfast.

"I went in to check on Liam and I couldn't see him at first," she said. "When I walked closer, I could see he was hanging. I lifted him up by his arms. He wasn't breathing."

Paramedics worked on the boy, but he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

According to police reports and a lawsuit filed by the family, sometime in the early-morning hours, one end of the drop rail on Liam's crib had come off its track.

Liam, who could sit up with pillows behind him and was just learning to roll over, either rolled or slid feet-first into the opening. His head was caught between the rail and the mattress.

A coroner's office investigator photographed the crib and notified the CPSC. Sheriff's police impounded the crib while they conducted a death investigation. Child welfare authorities temporarily removed the Johns' other son from the parents' care while they investigated.

The CPSC dispatched investigator Ng. When he went to the sheriff's police, he was told the crib was in the evidence room and couldn't be examined while the investigation was pending, according to his report.

Ng noted in his report that the coroner's investigator had failed to record the correct model number of the crib but did record the Graco brand name. Mistakenly believing that Graco had manufactured the crib--it was made by Simplicity under the Graco brand name--Ng went to Graco's Web site.

"A search of ... www.gracobaby.com did not reveal any models similar to the crib involved in the incident," Ng's report stated. A superior reviewed it on July 29, 2005, and in the box calling for a model number put "UNKNOWN."

Three days later, after sheriff's police determined that Liam's death was an accident, the crib was released to the family.

In an interview, Ng acknowledged he did not follow up to try to determine the crib model.

Asked if he would have gone back to find the crib if a supervisor had requested, he said: "Well, that's possible. But that didn't happen."

As a result, Liam's death was not linked to the Aspen 3 in 1.

Charles Kelly, a San Francisco product liability attorney, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family, alleging the crib was to blame. "The dangers of the crib included the risk of the drop side becoming loose from the plastic track," the lawsuit read in part.

The suit was settled out of court earlier this year. As part of the agreement, Kelly said, lawyers for Simplicity required that the terms be sealed.

Complaints pile up

After Liam's death, more consumers filed complaints with the CPSC about problems with the drop rails on their Aspen 3 in 1 cribs.

Lisa Smith of Sherwood, Ark., told the agency in October 2005 that her 10-month-old daughter had fallen to the floor between the drop rail and the mattress after the rail detached.

"I was out of the room for about 40 minutes and I heard a thud," Smith said in an interview. "She was screaming. My child rolled against it and rolled right on through."

Smith said she tried to contact Simplicity, but the company never returned her calls. "I stopped using the crib," she said. "It was dangerous, and it could have killed my child."

The CPSC sent out an investigator. Smith said she told him, "A child could have been suffocated."

A year later, the Millwood family in Georgia had no idea a crib could pose such a danger.

On Nov. 19, 2006, Robert and Amanda Millwood went out to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary and dropped off their 6-month-old son, Edward, at his aunt and uncle's home in Woodstock, Ga.

The aunt put the boy to bed in a Simplicity Nursery-in-a-Box crib. It was a new crib purchased six months earlier, and her husband had put it together.

She would later tell police that Edward fussed for a while but eventually fell asleep in the crib. She left the nursery door open just in case the boy cried out during the night.

At 6:45 a.m., she got up to check on Edward and found him hanging by his head between the drop rail and the mattress.

The drop rail, which had been installed upside down, cracked open at a joint and separated far enough from the crib that the baby slipped through feet-first and suffocated.

This past February, 8-month-old Royale Arceneaux was found suffocated between an improperly installed drop rail on a Crib N Changer Combo in Houston.

"The parents had no idea it was installed upside down," said Mark Weycer, a lawyer for the family. "That was a death sentence for their child."

The Millwood and Arceneaux families both filed lawsuits against Simplicity.

On Saturday, CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said the agency was reinvestigating Liam's death and would open an investigation into a fourth death in a Simplicity crib just this past Wednesday.

Two-year-old Serenity Bergey was asphyxiated in Boca Raton, Fla., in a Crib N Changer Combo. The child's mother, Connie Bergey, said drop-rail hardware had broken and the rail was being held by duct tape.

"CPSC is deeply saddened by each one of the deaths involving children in Simplicity cribs, including the tragic death of Serenity Bergey just last week," Wolfson said.

The CPSC issued Friday's recall with a strong sense of urgency. Wolfson stated bluntly that parents should keep their children out of the cribs until they are examined for flaws or fixed.

Cowles, the consumer advocate, also emphasized the high stakes in such a recall. "We don't want another baby to be harmed," she said.

She was left to wonder, however, why it took so long for the cribs to be recalled, dating back to Liam Johns' 2005 death.

"Two-and-a-half years is not acceptable," she said. "There is no room for tolerance in the safety of a crib."

I don't blame China at all for this. The company Simplicity lied to the consumers. When a consumer called to complain about the crib, she was told that "it was no big deal" and there was "nothing wrong with the crib" despite the fact that the company knew that there were problems. To say that they didn't know is ridiculous!!

The CPSC failed on so many levels, and the excuse that they give for the failure just blows my mind. What they're essentially claiming is that because they have so many cases to investigate, they don't have the time to do a complete investigation. It's total bullshit. You would think that because a death was involved here that they would go to great lengths to investigate, and get to the root of the problem. But even a death didn't do a thing to kick the investigation into gear.

Should the Chinese manufacturers feel horrible about what happened? Absolutely!! But, the blame is not and should not be on them. They were given the product by Simplicity. No doubt they were given the materials and instructions for the product by Simplicity. Once the cribs were built, they should have been inspected by Simplicity to ensure that they were safe. Simplicity clearly didn't do that!! Had that been done, lives could have been saved.

The fact that Simplicity would place the blame on the consumer by saying "all cases of which [the company] is aware have involved improper assembly of the drop side by the consumer," totally disgusts me. Simplicity needs to own up to their responsibility in all this. They need to accept blame for their lies, and negligence. Quite frankly, that company needs to be shut down and should never be allowed to operate ever again. The blatant lies and negligence is beyond any comprehension. Clearly Simplicity does NOT live up to what is claimed on its website. Clearly Simplicity is only interested in passing the buck to China when it is SIMPLICITY'S product that has failed, resulting in the deaths of too many children. One death is too many!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

The KKK, Neo-Nazi Groups, And The Jena 6

As tens of thousands of people were preparing to make their way to Jena, La., for today’s anti-racism rally, white supremacists were burning up the Internet with furious denunciations, bloody predictions, promises of future violence, and calls for lynching.

“The best crowd control for such a situation would be a squad of men armed with full automatics and preferably a machine gun as well,” is how one person put it on the Web forum hosted by the neo-Nazi Vanguard News Network. Added another hopeful VNN poster: “I’m not really that angry at the nogs [a recent variation on an ancient racial slur] — they are just soldiers in an undeclared race war. But any white that’s in that support rally I would like to … have them machine-gunned.”

As the rally began to unfold this morning, it became clear that it would attract huge numbers of people, perhaps even the 40,000 that some organizers had predicted. They came to protest the case of the “Jena 6,” black youths who were charged with serious crimes for an attack on a white youth not long after white teens who had targeted blacks were let off with a slap on the wrist. White supremacists reacted with a strange mixture of anger and admiration for the organizing behind the rally.

But the dominant response was violent rage. “I think a group of White men with AK rifles loaded with high capacity magazines should close in on the troop of howler monkeys from all sides and compress them into a tight group, and then White men in the buildings on both sides of the shitskinned hominids shall throw Molotov cocktails from above to cleanse the nigs by fire,” wrote “NS Cat” on VNN. Another poster fantasized about a terrorist attack in Jena today: “Wouldn’t that be sweet? Gosh darn, wouldn’t that be sweet? Good LORD wouldn’t THAT be SWeeeeEET? Boom, Boom, no more Coon! Well? A White man can dream can’t he?”

“If these blacks want a race war,” added a poster on Stormfront, another white supremacist Web forum, “they will get one. Bring it on.”

In Roanoke, Va., an especially virulent purveyor of race hate, neo-Nazi Bill White, this afternoon posted the home addresses and phone numbers of five of the six black youths who make up the Jena 6 under this headline: “Addresses of Jena 6 Niggers: In Case Anyone Wants to Deliver Justice.” White previously posted the home addresses of Southern Poverty Law Center president Richard Cohen and SPLC cooperating attorney James Boren.

White, the leader of the American National Socialist Workers Party, suggests that readers “get in touch and let them know justice is coming.” Another White posting on the matter doesn’t hold anything at all back: “Lynch the Jena 6.”

Robert Moore (right), a well-known neo-Nazi leader from Baton Rouge, La., apparently abandoned plans he had discussed on Stormfront Wednesday to protest the Jena rally, possibly while carrying guns. Instead, he wrote later, “If they DO start rioting and looting and burning and raze the town to the ground, White Pride Construction will be there the next day to help them rebuild.” In fact, Moore’s company, started in 2005, has done a great deal of post-Katrina rebuilding on the Gulf Coast — a truly remarkable thing, given that its name includes a widely known racist slogan.

These pigs are threatening to murder these kids, and it's like nobody gives a damn. It's so utterly disgusting!! The only news station that I heard talking about this was CNN.

In case you're wondering what the response was from Jena authorities, I've got the answer. When asked if they would be providing these kids and their families with protection due to the threats from the KKK and neo-Nazi groups, guess what the answer was!! NO!! They claim that they don't have the manpower, and besides, it doesn't warrant protection. Hmm, any "sheets" in the Jena police department? Nah!! Couldn't be!!

I'll be talking about this story and others relating to the Jena 6 tomorrow. For tonight, I will end with the hope that someone offers up protection to these kids, their families, and their friends. Their lives are being threatened, and nobody wants to do a damn thing about it. Nation of Islam, are you out there? Al Sharpton, are you out there? Jesse Jackson, are you out there? Someone, get these people some bodyguards!! Get these people some security!! And someone please lock these MOTHERFUCKING RACIST PIGS FROM THE KLAN AND NEO-NAZI GROUPS UP FOR TERRORISM!! Let's start calling these pigs what they truly are!! They're terrorists, and they deserve to rot in a cell for threatening to lynch these kids!!

Why Don't People Get Married?

Why the hell is this news? Oh, and it's none of anybody's business why people don't get married.

Why do unmarried couples opt out of wedlock?

(LifeWire) -- First comes love, then comes marriage -- or at least that's how the saying used to go. An increasing number of heterosexual couples have been shacking up without plans for a trip down the aisle.

According to a 2003 U.S. Census Bureau report on families and living arrangements, 4.6 million U.S. households were occupied by unmarried couples of the opposite sex. That's up from 2.9 million in 1996.

"People don't question, 'Why did you get married?' They only ask you, 'Why haven't you gotten married?' " points out Marion Willetts, an associate professor of sociology at Illinois State University. "I think a lot of people feel if you were really serious about your partner and your relationship, then you'd get married."

But from what Willetts has found with the life partners she's spoken to, that is simply not true. "They're in this for the long haul," she says. "This isn't just some convenient thing or trial marriage. They're just as committed to their relationship as married people."

While Census data doesn't identify couples who have sworn off marriage, Willetts has followed this group in a study of 83 couples she's surveyed over the past few years for her current research, tentatively titled "Union Quality Comparisons between Heterosexual Licensed Domestic Partners and the Legally Married." According to her research, it's not just 20-something social idealists who decline to get married. Willetts has interviewed octogenarians in committed relationships who are not planning to tie the knot.

In fact, according to a 2003 AARP survey of 3,500 single Americans aged 40-69, just eight percent cited finding someone to marry as their reason for dating, while 49 percent said they were looking for someone to talk with or do things with -- in other words, a companion.

As the prevalence of unmarried couples rises, more companies and state and local governments are providing a range of domestic partner benefits. Some, like New York state, require that medical benefits be extended to both same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Other states, like Illinois extend such benefits only to same-sex partners.

Why do some couples opt for long-term companionship instead of legal marriage, like movie actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, who have been together since 1982?

Alison Hatch, 30, a part-time instructor and doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Daniel Welch, 31, an elementary school teacher, cite reasons both social and political.

"We are philosophically opposed to marriage for a few reasons, but mostly because we do not feel as though we can in good conscience enter into an institution that actively discriminates against gay and lesbian couples," says Hatch, who has lived with Welch for four years. "It is our belief that it is inherently discriminatory to grant social benefits to some couples and exclude others."

Actor Brad Pitt told Esquire magazine in October 2006 that he and actress Angelina Jolie -- with whom he is raising four children -- have declined to consider marriage until same-sex couples have the right to wed.

Partners choose not to marry for other reasons. Hatch, whose dissertation examined 48 committed heterosexual couples choosing to not pursue legal marriage, has spoken to people who feel marriage is a patriarchal institution. Some are against the intertwining of church and state in marriage. There also are emotional reasons why committed couples choose to stay unwed.

"I think that a lot of people like the kind of organic nature that your relationship takes on when you decide not to marry," says Julie Bluhm, 31, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based clinical social worker and a board member of the Alternatives to Marriage Project, a national nonprofit organization advocating equality for unmarried people. "It's almost a deeper appreciation of their relationship and the privacy of it."

Being unmarried was not necessarily an obstacle to parenting for a small group of couples in Willetts' research. In a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in November 2003, two of 23 couples Willetts surveyed had children biologically related to both partners, though several couples had children biologically related to one partner -- typically the result of a previous marriage.

Of the two couples, one pair had been living together for over 15 years and did not encounter any legal issues concerning their children by not being married. Said Willetts, "They expressed to me that everyone -- including their children's friends -- had just assumed they were legally married anyway."

Why is this anybody's business? It's not!! Whether or not someone decides to get married is their business, period!!

For the record, I'm single and I choose to be that way. I don't want a man!! And no, I'm not a lesbian. I don't want a man because I don't need a man. I'm perfectly happy being on my own. I don't need some guy attached to my arm to prove my worth in life. I don't need a status symbol (ring) around my finger that will do nothing except turn my finger green. I don't need a piece of paper to prove my love for someone if I ever choose to be in a relationship. If I'm ever in a relationship, I WILL NEVER GET MARRIED!!

This is about being who I am, and staying true to what I believe in. It's about doing what I want instead of doing what everyone else wants me to do. It's my life, and it's my choice!!

What I don't understand is why people think that you have to be married to be somebody, especially if you're a woman. Women can be mothers. Women can have lives. Women can be successful. Women can be happy. Women can do and be anything. They can do all that without being in a relationship. They can certainly do that without being married.

If people don't like that I'm not married, too damn bad!! Perhaps people need to get a life and concern themselves with something other than why people don't get married.

The Catholic Church Attacks Sexual Abuse Victim

The Catholic Church attacked a sexual abuse victim. What the hell else is new?

MEXICO: Church Lashes Out at Sex Abuse Victim

MEXICO CITY, Sep 19 (IPS) - Catholic Church leaders in Mexico accused a victim of sexual abuse, who brought charges in a U.S. court against Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera for protecting an alleged pedophile priest, of seeking economic gain.

An article published in the Mexico City Archdiocese’s weekly publication Desde La Fe on Tuesday says that "a majority of the civil lawsuits brought in the United States are aimed at obtaining large sums of money, and 95 percent of these suits are won by the plaintiffs. It's a sure thing."

The article, which at no point laments the victim’s suffering or offers solidarity, states that "the real reason that Joaquín Aguilar filed the lawsuit was because of the juicy opportunity represented by bringing a civil suit in the United States."

"We are talking about millions of dollars! Money that he could never hope to obtain in Mexico," says the article.

Aguilar, who says he was sexually abused in the 1980s by a Roman Catholic priest in Mexico who is also accused of molesting some 50 other boys, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles, California last year accusing Rivera and Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony of conspiring to cover up the actions of Father Nicolás Aguilar (no relation).

Nicolás Aguilar served as a parish priest in the central Mexican city of Puebla in the 1980s, under then bishop Rivera, who transferred him to Los Angeles, where he served under Mahony for less than a year before fleeing to Mexico in 1988. He faces 19 counts of child molestation in southern California, as well as charges in Mexico, where he remains a fugitive from justice.

In early August, Rivera was questioned for nine hours in Mexico City by representatives of the U.S. court hearing the case and Joaquín Aguilar’s lawyers.

Mahony, the head of the Catholic Church’s largest archdiocese in the United States, was questioned last Thursday.

According to Desde La Fe, the lawyers of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which is backing Joaquín Aguilar, are motivated by profit, since they could expect to earn "the high sum of 40 percent of any damages" rewarded.

The article argues that civil trials in the United States are less rigorous than criminal trials in terms of standard of proof, and that compensation payments are based more on the feelings of the jury than on an objective decision.

Cardinal Rivera is completely innocent, says Desde La Fe, after reiterating that Joaquín Aguilar and his attorneys are only after money.

But anthropologist of religion Gilberto Morrillón told IPS that the Catholic Church in Mexico "is being arrogant by reducing a lawsuit for a cover-up of child sex abuse to a matter of mere money."

"It would seem that (the Church leaders) do not care about Aguilar’s suffering or about the guilt of their priest," he said.

"Pedophilia is a very serious problem that has been acknowledged by the Church, which is why it finally had to give in and pay out millions of dollars in damages," he said.

Rivera claims that in 1987 he sent a letter to Mahony warning him that Father Aguilar might have "homosexual problems," although he said he did so in code, using euphemisms.

However, Mahony says he never received such a letter from Rivera, and that he employed the priest without being aware of the allegations he was facing in Mexico, and fired him when he was accused of sexually abusing young members of his congregation in Los Angeles.

In July, the archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay the landmark sum of 660 million dollars in damages to 500 victims of molestation by priests.

A total of 10,667 people alleged abuse by 4,392 priests in the United States between 1950 and 2002, and compensation-related costs for the Catholic Church amounted to 573 million dollars, according to a 2004 study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, "The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States".

The church sex abuse scandal erupted in the United States in 2002, with former victims speaking out and filing around 1,200 lawsuits since then.

Evidence, testimony and confessions from bishops in the United States as well as Mexico have shown that Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing minors have frequently been transferred from parish to parish, sent to rehabilitation centres, or simply removed from the scene by their superiors to protect the Church from scandal and avoid court action.

In Mexico, the country that has the second largest number of Catholics in the world after Brazil, no one knows for certain how many priests have been accused of child abuse, but the Church claims there have only been a few isolated cases.

These sick bastards are beyond disgusting!!

First of all, no amount of money in the world will ever give these victims the things that they desire most in life. For some, they want their childhood back!! They want the childhood that was stolen from them by filthy, disgusting pedophile priests and nuns who didn't give a rat's ass about their victims. For some, they want a normal life. They want the normal life that they've never been able to have since the moment they were abused. For others, they want a combination of both!! They want their childhood back and they want a normal life. Sadly, none of them will have either!!

Second of all, how fucking dare they suggest that this is about MONEY!! This is about JUSTICE. This is about bringing the criminal to justice, and all of those people who let the abuse happen. This is about making sure that it's never allowed to happen to another person ever again!!

This man should have never been abused. At least fifty other victims of this sick pig should have never been abused. But the fact of the matter is that they were, and the Catholic Church should be held accountable for their role in all of this!! If that means a civil lawsuit, so be it!!

Bush And Michele Bachmann

At the 2007 State of the Union address, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) infamously gripped onto President Bush’s shoulder until he gave her “a kiss and an embrace.” Yesterday, Bachmann boasted to a MN radio station that at the scene of the recent bridge collapse, Bush tried to “embrace” and “kiss” her once again:

The President and I enjoy a great relationship. When he and I were back visiting the collapsed bridge, he reached over because he wanted to give me a kiss when we were down at the site, and I had pulled back and he said, “What? You don’t want to embrace?” And I said, “The people of Minnesota love you Mr. President, but I think one kiss was enough.”

Hey Michele!! For the record, the people of Minnesota HATE George Bush. If you need proof, look at the election results for 2000 and 2004. He didn't win the state in either election!!

What disgusts me most about this whole thing is not the fact that he tried to kiss and hug her a second time. It's the fact that he did it at the site of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, and he did it while a search for DECEASED VICTIMS WAS STILL TAKING PLACE. There were still dead bodies in that water, and he had the audacity to do this. Talk about having no respect for the deceased!! Well, then again, when has he ever shown any respect for the deceased? NEVER!!

As a human being, I'm outraged and repulsed by this!! Learn to have some fucking respect, or get the fuck out!!

What Kind Of Mom Is Michelle Malkin?

Michelle Malkin may be a bitch, but bitch doesn't even begin to describe her!! As if this attention-seeking media whore hasn't spewed enough hate to last a lifetime, she has decided to personally attack Sally Field.

Malkin: Sally Field Is The Type Of Mom Who ‘Buys Her Teenager Beer And Condoms On Prom Night’

Since actress Sally Field won an Emmy and spoke out against the Iraq war in her acceptance speech, the right wing has been on the attack. In addition to Fox censoring her speech, conservatives continue to criticize Field for speaking out.

Taking the slander to a very personal level, right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin attacked Field’s parenting skills with a column in the National Review entitled “Sally Field Does Not Speak For Me.” In it, she writes:

Sally Field is the mom who looks the other way when the brat on the elementary-school slide pushes your son to the ground or throws dirt in your daughter’s face.

She’s the mom who holds her tongue at the mall when thugs spew profanities and make crude gestures in front of her brood.

She’s the mom who tells her child never to point out when a teacher gets her facts wrong.

She’s the mom who buys her teenager beer, condoms, and a hotel room on prom night, because she’d rather give in than assert her parental authority and do battle.

Fox and Friends hosted Malkin this morning to promote her hate-filled column. On the show, Malkin — a mother herself — posited her theory of parenting: “motherhood should bring a ferocity, and dare I say, make us more violent.”

Fox was overjoyed to have Malkin on the air. Co-host Gretchen Carlson said Malkin’s “best line in the article” was about the condoms and beer. Malkin responded, “as a Mom, I know, I’ve dealt with moms like [Fields], who look the other way.”

After a few more exchanges of laughter and contempt, co-host Steve Doocy closed the segment stating, “Hollywood probably thinks you are dangerous and offensive.” So do many others.

So, the media whore wants to play the "what kind of mother is..." game? Well, let's play the WHAT KIND OF MOTHER IS MICHELLE "MEDIA WHORE" MALKIN GAME!!

***Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin is the kind of mother who would participate in the fight if her children were pushed to the ground on the playground or had dirt thrown in their faces. She'd have no qualms about beating the shit of the kid who did it, even if that meant beating the shit of the kid herself.***

***Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin is the kind of mother who would teach her children to lie their asses off in a classroom despite the fact that THEY ARE WRONG, and to proclaim that the teacher is a "moonbat, terrorist-loving, communist, socialist, psychotic, death-to-america preaching, gay, dangerous LIBERAL when the teacher presents the TRUTH.***

***Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin is the kind of mother who would teach her children to hate people because of the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, or their religion (the Muslims anyhow) because they're bad, evil people who have no place in society.***

***Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin is the kind of mother whose children will still be sucking their thumbs, wearing diapers, and living at home when they're 50 because she will never let them be exposed to the reality that is LIFE!!***

Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin can spew whatever nasty, disgusting crap that she wants. She has that right to free speech. So does Sally Field. But the FUCK YOU FOX CHANNEL chose to thwart her right.

Put your fucking money where your nasty-ass mouth is Michelle!! March your ass over to the nearest recruiting station, and sign your ass up to join the military. While you're there, request to be sent to Iraq. Then see where your hate speech gets you!!

Silly me!! This media whore would never volunteer to fight an immoral, unethical, murderous WAR!! She's too busy coming up with her latest hate speech to be bothered with getting her hands dirty. After all, we're just MURDERING INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN WHO DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO US. Why should she worry her ugly little head about such a trivial thing like that?

Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin deserves to have her ass beat by Sally Field. However, Sally Field is a REAL WOMAN who has class and respect for others, two things that Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin will NEVER EVER have!! Sally Field would never waste her time on a piece of trash like Michelle "Media Whore" Malkin.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

15 Year Old Autistic Teen Tasered By Police

A 15 year old autistic teen from California was tasered by police after running away from a center that he was at, and after running into traffic.

Deputies subdue autistic boy with Taser

The 15-year-old O.C. boy had run away from his parents and was dashing through traffic, authorities said.

Orange County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday defended their decision to use a stun gun on a 15-year-old autistic boy who ran away from his parents and later dashed into traffic.

Using the Taser in this case "was the right thing to do," said Jim Amormino, a sheriff's spokesman. "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car? The deputy made the right decision. . . . It could have saved [the boy's] life."

But Doris Karras, mother of Taylor Karras, said deputies did not need to use the Taser gun, particularly since she had called various police agencies to alert them that her son was missing.

She said her son would have followed deputies' directions if he hadn't felt threatened. "This was a very aggressive response," she said. She said her son "didn't have any weapon on him. He didn't even have a pencil."

Taylor fled during a visit to the Regional Center of Orange County in Westminster about 11:30 a.m. Monday. The family had gone there for counseling, which the boy did not want.

About nine hours later, his mother saw him about one block from their home -- 16 miles from the center -- on the ground and handcuffed by deputies.

Amormino said Tustin police called the Sheriff's Department after a pedestrian reported a suspicious person. Taylor was pushing a shopping cart down Newport Avenue near La Loma Drive, near his home in North Tustin. With no money, he apparently had walked home.

Doris Karras said her son, who is 5 feet 10 and has a beard, looks older than 15.

Amormino said Taylor yelled something when approached by a deputy, then ran across Newport Avenue, causing two cars to swerve. It was then that a deputy shot him with a Taser gun.

The deputy handcuffed the youth to keep him out of traffic, Amormino said.

Taser guns use compressed nitrogen to propel two darts that attach to the body. The darts are connected to the gun by a wire and deliver a 50,000-volt shock at five-second intervals to incapacitate a suspect.

The favorite "toy" of police was once their guns. Now, it's the TASER. And they wonder why we hate them. They can do whatever they damn well please to us, and they get away with it. We, on the other hand, deserve our "punishments" bestowed upon us by these thugs!! Or so they say!!

This kid did nothing wrong, yet he got tasered. Clearly the sheriff's department knows nothing about autism and how people with autism react to situations. If they did, this kid wouldn't have been tasered. He wouldn't have been treated like a criminal. And I wouldn't be blogging about this story right now because there would be nothing to talk about!!

My personal favorite part of this story is the comment by the son of a bitch spokesman. He said, "If that were your son, would you want him Tased or hit by a car? The deputy made the right decision. . . . It could have saved [the boy's] life." Excuse me you fucking asshole? First of all, if this were my kid and they tasered him, they better damn well believe that they would be facing a lawsuit. How fucking dare this asshole suggest that anyone was right in using a taser against this kid!! Second of all, that taser could have KILLED this boy. Did they ever stop and think about that? People have died from being hit with a taser. But they were too fucking taser-happy to care!!

This is why people hate the police!! They use a taser on a teenager. What's next, using a taser against an infant that won't stop crying? If you think I'm joking, think again!! Police have already used a taser against a man holding a baby, and in turn, the baby was hit by the taser.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Banned From Ground Zero

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been banned from visiting Ground Zero when he comes to speak at the United Nations this weekend.

Iran leader denied on WTC wreath request

NEW YORK - A request by Iran's president to lay a wreath at the World Trade Center site next week has been turned down by police and blasted by U.S. diplomats as an attempt to turn ground zero into a "photo op."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is to arrive Sunday to address the U.N.'s General Assembly, asked the city and the U.S. Secret Service earlier this month for permission to visit the site of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The request to enter the fenced-in site was rejected because of ongoing construction there and due to security concerns, police spokesman Paul Browne said Wednesday.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said a visit to ground zero "is a matter for the city of New York, but it seems more than odd that the president of a country that is a state sponsor of terror would visit ground zero."

Mohammad Mir Ali Mohammadi, spokesman for the Iranian mission to the U.N., said he was not notified officially that Ahmadinejad would not be allowed at the site, but said it was unfortunate.

"President Ahmadinejad intended to lay a wreath at the site of ground zero in order to pay tribute to the victims of the terrorists attack of Sept. 11, 2001. We are hopeful that we can still work something out with the police department," he said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday the city was considering Ahmadinejad's application, prompting an outcry from politicians and families of Sept. 11 victims. Browne said about two hours later that Kelly had misspoken.

Port Authority and police representatives decided at a meeting that no dignitaries would be allowed inside the site, said Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman.

The United States, its European allies and other world powers suspect Iranian authorities of seeking nuclear weapons, although Iran insists its uranium enrichment program and other atomic activities are aimed only at producing energy.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters Wednesday that the United States would not support Iran's attempt to use the site for a "photo op."

"Iran can demonstrate its seriousness about concern with regard to terrorism by taking concrete actions," such as suspending its uranium enrichment program and dropping support for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Khalilzad said.

It wasn't clear whether Ahmadinejad wanted to descend to the base of the trade center site, where the fallen twin towers stood, or to lay a wreath on a public sidewalk outside the site.

Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979, when Washington cut its ties with Tehran after Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The Bush administration has accused Iran of arming Shiite Muslim militants in Iraq and seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

In a television appearance earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said his country wanted peace and friendship with the United States, despite mounting tensions between the two countries.

In a related development, the U.S. also denied a visa to Iran's United Nations ambassador in Geneva to attend next week's General Assembly meeting because he was involved in the 1979 U.S. hostage crisis, a U.N. official said.

It was not clear what role the ambassador, Ali Reza Moaiyeri, allegedly played in the hostage drama. The U.N. official who said his visa was denied spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no public announcement.

Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said, "although we don't comment about specific visa cases we certainly would not allow a person into the United States who has taken Americans as hostages."

Are you fucking kidding me? A "photo op"? The jackass in the White House has used Ground Zero for plenty of photo ops!!

These weren't photo ops!! No, not quite!! The Boy King stood on the pile of rubble that undoubtedly contained the remains of countless people, and shouted from a megaphone about how we were going to make the evil-doers pay for attacking us. If that isn't a disgusting photo op, I don't know what is.

Don't even get me started on Rudy Giuliani. He has used 9/11 and Ground Zero to further his political ambitions since 9/11. He has no shame when it comes to exploiting it for selfish reasons. Yet he has the nerve to criticize this visit request. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!

It's a sad day when you have to agree with Pat Buchanan. He doesn't understand the mass hysteria over this man wanting to visit Ground Zero, and said that he should be allowed to do so.

Personally, I'm waiting for the Bush regime to come out with the "facts" that Iran attacked us on 9/11 and that they are behind all terror attacks against the United States both past and present. Perhaps maybe they'll come out with the "fact" that Iran was really behind the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Iran started the U.S. Civil War. HELL, IRAN KILLED JESUS!! For that, they must die!!

Another Republican Sexual Predator

DETROIT - A federal prosecutor from Florida who authorities say flew to Michigan for a sexual encounter with a 5-year-old girl tried to hang himself in his jail cell Thursday but was stopped in time, the sheriff said.

John D.R. Atchison, 53, used a sheet in an attempted hanging around 4 a.m., said Sanilac County Sheriff Virgil Strickler.

Another inmate yelled out to jailers, who kept Atchison from hurting himself, Strickler said.

The 119-bed Sanilac County Jail is in Sandusky, about 75 miles north of Detroit. U.S. marshals sometimes use it to house federal prisoners. Marshals moved Atchison after the suicide attempt, the sheriff said. Atchison's destination was not known.

The married father of three is an assistant U.S. attorney based in Pensacola, Fla., and president of a youth sports association in Gulf Breeze.

He was arrested Sunday and was initially placed on a suicide watch, but the watch was lifted at the request of the defense, after Atchison assured a U.S. magistrate Tuesday he wouldn't harm himself.

Atchison was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving for a meeting with someone authorities say Atchison thought was the mother of a 5-year-old girl with whom he allegedly arranged to have sex. The woman was actually a Macomb County sheriff's detective participating in an Internet sex sting operation.

Atchison was charged with three felonies, the most serious of which is crossing state lines with intent to have sex with someone under 12. Conviction carries a minimum 30-year prison sentence and a maximum of life.

His defense lawyer, James C. Thomas, has declined to comment on the arrest. He told the Detroit News that he regretted asking for the suicide watch to be lifted.

Atchison's boss, U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Miller, said in a statement earlier this week that his office was cooperating with the investigation. He said staff members were "deeply saddened by the arrest."

If you have just lost your lunch after reading that, I can't say that I'm surprised. But hold onto what may remain of the contents of your stomach. This story gets even more disgusting.

Courtesy of Daily Kos, read on at your own risk. But don't say I didn't warn you about losing what remains of the contents of your stomach.

DETROIT -- A U.S. Justice Department official has been arrested on suspicion of traveling to Detroit over the weekend to have sex with a minor.

John David R. Atchison, 53, an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday afternoon.

An undercover officer posed as a mother offering her child to Atchison for sex, according to police.

The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."

The undercover detective asked how Atchison can be certain of no injury. He responded, "Just gotta go slow and very easy. I've done it plenty," according to detectives.

News of Atchison's arrest is "a shellshock" in Gulf Breeze, where Atchison was the president of a local youth recreation board and had been involved in coaching soccer, baseball and other sports, said Lt. Rich Hawthorne of the Gulf Breeze police.

The only registered John Dave R Atchison (John David Roy Atchison)registered in Florida is a Republican from Gulf Breeze (Pensacola suburb) born in 1957, which fits the other information.....

Political party aside, what a sick motherfucker!! This disgusting excuse for what passes for a human being has apparently molested children before according to his own words.

According to what I read, this sick motherfucker is a Republican that was appointed to his position by none other than Alberto Gonzales himself. Is this what GONZO meant when he said he had to stay on as Attorney General to protect the children? Clearly he failed at that job too!!

Thankfully this sick motherfucker didn't get his hands on another child. As much as I'd love to see him fry, he deserves to spend whatever is left of his miserable life behind bars. And knowing how inmates just "love" child molesters, my guess is that it won't be long!!

"Saddam Killed Nelson Mandela"

In a press conference this morning, President Bush tried to assert that Saddam’s brutal rule over Iraq wiped the country clean of potential democratic reformers — individuals who may have possessed leadership skills like former South African President Nelson Mandela. In doing so, Bush inartfully suggested Saddam killed Mandela:

I thought an interesting comment was made — somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, “Now, where’s Mandela?” Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.

Saddam killed Nelson Mandela? Interesting!! Wait!! NELSON MANDELA IS STILL ALIVE!! Never mind!! That's just a fact, and facts mean jack shit to the Boy King!!

For those morons who are about to post a comment trying to explain what the Boy King meant, don't bother!! Nothing you say can erase the fact that the Boy King is braindead, and will forever remain that way.

Arrest Warrant Issued For Nun

An arrest warrant has been issued for a nun who has been charged for having sex with former students back in the 1960's when she was the principal of St. Patrick's school in Milwaukee, WI.

Milwaukee Nun, 79, Charged With Having Sexual Contact With Two Boys

MILWAUKEE — A bench warrant has been issued for a 79-year-old nun charged with inappropriate behavior after she failed to appear at a hearing.

Norma Giannini is charged with two counts of indecent behavior with a child stemming from incidents involving boys at a school where she had been principal.

Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Paul Tiffin said Monday the warrant was issued after Giannini failed to appear at a hearing Friday.

She was charged last December and accused of having repeated sexual contact during the 1960s with some students who attended St. Patrick's School in Milwaukee.

Sheila King, with the Chicago region of the Sisters of Mercy, said Giannini hadn't realized she was required to attend the hearing last week.

Why am I not surprised by this story? Oh yeah, that's right!! I'm not surprised because we hear this kind of shit coming out on a weekly, if not daily basis!! The Catholic Church has the audacity to demand that other people deal with their own issues. Yet, the Catholic Church can't do the same!! What's going to come out next?

She was charged in December for having sex with these students. These are serious charges. I can't believe that she honestly thought she didn't have to attend a hearing on the matter.

Don't worry though!! I'm sure the Catholic Church will defend her, and heap the blame on the victims. What this nun did was called RAPE. It's as simple as that. These were students. These were children. They were not in a position to consent to having sex with this woman. She raped them, and hopefully the judge and jury will throw the book at her. She may be 79 years old. But she deserves to spend the rest of her pathetic life behind bars. Well, that is if they can actually find her. Knowing how these situations have played out in the past, she's probably basking in the sunlight on a beach in Mexico or somewhere else that she's been shipped off to. They say Italy is beautiful this time of year. Perhaps she's on an "extended visit" to the Vatican!!